Page 3 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

Draven slid off the wall and turned so he was leaning on the railing next to me before bumping my shoulder with his. “Something troubling you, Sam?”

I frowned up at him. “I don’t think you’ve ever called me that.”

“It’s how Kieran always referred to you.” He shrugged, but there was a forced casualness to it. “Given that we’re considering marriage, I thought I’d try out nicknames.”

My stomach tightened. I let my gaze fall back to the white, sandy beach stretching out beneath us and the impossibly blue waves rolling in and out.

“Nothing is troubling me,” I lied smoothly. “I was just thinking about how much I missed this view during my marriage to Demetri. House Laurent is on the coast, but their fortress is set back further from the water. More than once, I longed to be able to hear the tides while falling asleep.”

“The Sovereign House is far inland,” Draven pointed out.

“Then you’ll have to work quite hard to convince me to marry you and move there,” I said in a breezy tone, not taking my eyes off the water even as I was acutely aware of just how close he was standing.

“Kieran can tell you just how persuasive I can be.” I went still at his words before slowly turning to face him. Draven cocked his head and studied my expression. “You didn’t know about us? Given how close the two of you were growing up”—he gave me a knowing smile—“and how close the two of you arenow, I assumed he told you.”

I smiled wide enough to show my fangs. “First you remind me that the Sovereign House is nowhere near my beloved ocean, and now you try to drive a wedge between me and the man I love with my entire soul. You used to be far morecharming, prince.”

Draven stared at me for a long moment, and the deep red threads that ran through his lapis blue eyes widened slightly like dark rivers of blood. I cocked my head to match his movement from earlier, and for a moment, his eyes flashed almost entirely red before he let out a deep, rumbling laugh.

“There you are.” He chuckled. “With all the false politeness and flirting you greeted me with, I was worried the Samara I knew had been lost to the bullshit of Moroi House politics. I knew when I got you alone out here, the real you would bleed through.”

“You’re the prince,” I said flatly. “You are the walking embodiment ofMoroi House politics.”

“I am what I have to be.” He nodded in acknowledgement. My brows furrowed before I caught the movement and smoothed it out. What had he meant by that?

“You didn’t answer my question from earlier. About marriage,” I clarified.

“Technically, you never asked a question.” He shrugged a broad shoulder.

“Don’t play coy with me, Drav.”

He smiled at hearing the nickname I’d given him long ago. “I never wanted to marry because I’m surrounded by people all day who are only married for political gains. The Houses are all cutthroat with each other, fighting over resources and always trying to get one over on someone else. Even knowing everyone enters into these marriages willingly”—his lips twisted down—“it wasn’t a future I ever wanted. So I made sure to make myself useful to the queen in other ways.”

This wasn’t the first time I’d heard Draven refer to hismother as “the queen.” When we were having private conversations, he’d almost always refer to her as “Velika” or just “the queen.” Only when he was addressing her in front of others did he call her Mother.

I’d always wondered why but had never asked because it’d felt too intrusive, and because I hadn’t wanted to ruin the times when Draven had shed the charming prince persona around me.

But everything was different now, and I couldn’t afford to let Draven keep any secrets.

“You mean your mother.”

“Sometimes she’s my mother.” His frown tipped up into a smile, but I knew it was false. “Sometimes she’s the Queen of Monsters.”

“And was it the mother or the queen who suggested the marriage between us?” I asked carefully.

“You could do worse.” He glanced at me with an amused expression. “Iama prince. Most people are impressed by that.”

“I’m not most people.”

“No,” he said slowly, “you most certainly are not.”

We both turned back towards the ocean and watched the tide roll in and out in companionable silence for a few minutes. I didn’t know what to say or think. All I knew was I needed to find the others so we could strategize.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to go get cleaned up now and then rest for a bit.” I pushed off the balcony wall and took a step back as Draven turned around to face me, leaning his back against the stones.

“Will Kieran berestingwith you?”

“Careful.” My gaze turned flinty as I told him my next lie. “I’ll consider this marriage, but I will not tolerate you coming between me and Kieran or harming him in any way.”

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